Friday, August 2, 2013

After reading
last week’s post, how hard was it for you to guard your heart this week?Were you having difficulty believing you were
receiving favor from God, because new things were coming against you?

I’ve been
putting this blog together since Tuesday, but in every step something prevented
me from going forward.It seemed almost
every conversation I had, email or message that came in, they all had one thing
in common – “fire.”

When the “fires” started.

It began
right after I posted my blog last Friday, with a phone call from my sister
stating that my father was in the hospital.He had fallen and hit his head.At that time there was bleeding on the brain along with some other
bruises.My father is 84 years old and
has limited vision and hearing.He
simply slipped on the porch.This sent
everyone in the family into an alert mode, causing us to take our minds off
everything else.With emotions trying to
prevail, my sister and I went to our prayer closets.

While this
was going on all weekend, I received word of a “tropical storm” that was
about to hit Hawaii.Immediately we
prayed and rebuked the storm of its power to harm. The storm obeyed!

Sunday
night while I was trying to put Yancy (rescue kitty) to bed she escaped from
me.As I bent down to catch her I lost
my balance and hit my head.Three times
that little stinker got away from me and wanted to play.

That night
I couldn’t sleep due to the huge headache compliments of Yancy. Fear tried to creep in concerning my head and
then thoughts of my Dad started swirling around.Throughout the night I cast down all the imaginations
the devil was trying to get me to dwell on, when all of a sudden I heard a loud
scream.My husband had a terrible
nightmare.I knew why I was awake ... to
pray.

The next day my husband received favor from God by someone taking him to lunch. Devil, once more you lose!

I didn’t
tell my family about my concussion, because I didn’t want to cause them any
stress.Wednesday night my sister called
to give me the daily update on my father.Believing God for a good report, the bleeding was decreasing.She had asked me to pray for her because she
was so tired from lack of sleep.The
night before she was up for hours praying for Dad and me. Then I told her what
happened.My head still hurt, but I was
able to sleep Tuesday night. Fiery dart extinguished!

Later on
in the week, someone else told me how they were so exhausted from putting fires
out all week. They decided they needed to get away overnight.The person left someone in charge of the
business and expected them to carry out the normal closing.When the person got home he was told the
individual left in charge never closed the store and it was open all night with
no one there.He was about frazzled.

Someone
else was suffering from heat exhaustion causing them not to be able to fulfill
the duties of the day. Prayer requests came in for a pregnant mother, heart problems, jobs, moving, marriage, fatigue, etc. This was
happening all over and no one seemed to be getting relief.People would get one thing settled and
another problem would break out leaving them no time for rest.

Early in
the week I realized what was going on and that people were experiencing fiery
darts from the devil.Some knew how to
quench them while others didn’t. There
were even some that were starting the spiritual fires without realizing it,
because of what they were believing and then speaking that unbelief.

Who is Starting the Fires?

God has
made everything we need available to us, but we are the ones who have to “take”
it or receive what has been freely given to us through Christ Jesus.

We have to
know, not just think that the Bible is real, and everything in it is real.If God said the devil will never stop trying
to sift us, then we always have to be prepared. Being prepared doesn’t mean we have to be
running ragged and living in fear. Peace is supposed to prevail, because we chose to believe God over the circumstance.

When the Apostle Paul
tried to step out in faith, all sorts of fiery darts from satan came against him
to prevent him from succeeding.

This isn’t
something new from the devil, so we should recognize when we are under attack.
Flags should be going up in our thinking as soon as any situation happens.Questions like, “Is this from God, the devil,
someone else or did I set myself up in this one by what I was speaking?” should
come to our thinking.

In every
instance when God’s people asked others to pray, as they prayed the fire went out.They prayed in agreement and it caused the
favor and grace of God to fall on every situation. For some, they just wanted us to pray, but they didn't believe for themselves so the fires kept coming.

19 “Again I say to you that if two of you
agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by
My Father in heaven.20 For where two or three are gathered together in My
name, I am there in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:19-20)

So what can we do when fires break out around us? "Take" action.

Four Steps for Holding on to Faith to Receive God's Favor

The first thing is to begin in prayer so you can do these things. Run to God not from Him.1.Take every thought captive.Capture
your thoughts and don’t let them run wild. Stop the fire right there. Refuse to believe all the negative junk.

“Casting down imaginations, and every high
thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into
captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5 NJV)

2.Take refuge in the Bible. Don’t panic,
which will cause you to make bad decisions. Believe God will shed light on the situation and guide you as to what
you should do.

“The LORD also will be a refuge for the
oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.” (Psalm 9:9 KJV)

“We have
renounced disgraceful ways (secret thoughts, feelings, desires and
underhandedness, the methods and arts that men hide through shame); we refuse
to deal craftily (to practice trickery and cunning) or to adulterate or
handle dishonestly the Word of God, but we state the truth openly (clearly and
candidly). And so we commend ourselves in the sight and presence of God
to every man’s conscience.”

7“However, we possess this precious
treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth,
that the grandeur and exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to
be from God and not from ourselves.” (2 Corinthians 4:2 & 7 Amp.)

3.Take the Shield of Faith. You need Holy Spirit water to put out the fire. Don't be discouraged no matter what things "look" like. Believe you're not going to be defeated, crushed or destroyed. God will shield you from any flames of the devil.

“Above all, taking the shield
of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery
darts of the wicked one.” (Ephesians 6:16 Amp)

8 “We are hedged in (pressed) on every
side [troubled and oppressed in every way], but not cramped or crushed;
we suffer embarrassments and are perplexed and unable to find a
way out, but not driven to despair;

9 We are pursued (persecuted and hard driven), but not
deserted [to stand alone]; we are struck down to the ground, but never struck
out and destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 Amp)

4.Take on the opportunity. Think of this as an opportunity for God to shine and show His mighty hand. Believe and speak of God’s goodness.
Believe
God and expect His favor in the situation.

1“Therefore, since we do hold and engage in this
ministry by the mercy of God [granting us favor, benefits, opportunities, and
especially salvation], we do not get discouraged (spiritless and despondent
with fear) or become faint with weariness and exhaustion.

13 Yet we have the same spirit of faith as he had who
wrote, I have believed, and therefore have I spoken. We too believe, and therefore we speak,

16 Therefore we do not become discouraged (utterly
spiritless, exhausted, and wearied out through fear). Though our outer man is
[progressively] decaying and wasting away, yet our inner self is being
[progressively] renewed day after day.

17 For our light, momentary affliction (this slight
distress of the passing hour) is ever more and more abundantly preparing and
producing and achieving for us an everlasting weight of glory [beyond
all measure, excessively surpassing all comparisons and all calculations, a
vast and transcendent glory and blessedness never to cease!],

18 Since we consider and look not to the things
that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are
visible are temporal (brief and fleeting), but the things that are invisible
are deathless and everlasting. (2 Corinthians 4:1, 13, 16-18 Amp)

What am I going to do when the attack comes from every side? Keep calm and carry on!

Pray to:

Take every
thought captive.

Take refuge in
the Bible.

Take the shield
of faith.

Take on
the opportunity.

We can’t stop the devil from
sending the fiery darts, but we can prevent them from becoming a forest fire. We can prevent "life's fires from spreading and literally quench them when we believe God and act in faith. Choose not to waver, but only believe.

Through the Fire by the Crabb Family

When "fires" seem to be all around you,
remember that the works of the devil have already gone up in smoke, because you
walk in the favor of Almighty God.

We believe and therefore we speak ...

favor of God, come!

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